Great Wall Private Hiking Day: Gubeikou to Jinshanling w/ Lunch

The trip was amazing and many thanks to Peter and Catherine for guiding me every stip of the way. There were no crowds and the scenery was spectacular. I really enjoyed seeing the different countryside and wilderness. It was very well organised, the guides were very helpful and they were on time. The Great Wall was absolutely awesome. It is a big walking day but I would recommend it for anyone who wants a different experience. We stayed on the wall to watch the sunset, which was a memorable experience. Take something warm as it gets windy in the evening.

This is one of the most amazing tours I have ever taken. Standing on the Great Wall of China, with no-one else around apart from my partner and our wonderful, knowledgeable guide Nico, was one of the best moments I have experienced while travelling. Nico and our driver Mr Li picked us up at our hotel for an early start. We immediately liked them both, for their care for our comfort, for Nico's warmth in sharing his experience of becoming a father of a baby boy, for Mr Li's calm driving in the busy Beijing traffic. For the first half of our journey Nico explained the history of the Dynasties in China and how the Great Wall came to be constructed. Nico is a History graduate and was extremely knowledgeable- he was able to tell us detailed information in a very interesting way that made us all the more excited to see it. We then had a short rest in the car before arriving in a remote village, where Mr Li dropped us off so we could hike up to the wall. Seeing the Great Wall for the first time was a transformative and humbling experience for me. It is difficult to express just how impressive it is, and against the history we had heard this wonderoous construction took on life and meaning that was quite emotional. We hiked up to, along and over the other side of the wall for about one hour, and then hiked back up from the north side and along the wall again to Jinshanling (where there are 5 star bathrooms). Every view is breathtaking. Nico was the perfect guide- informative, congenial company, solicitous (it is quite hard work, climbing up to and walking along the wall, so we had to stop for a breather now and then). It was the best hike I have ever taken. I was truly sad to come down from the wall and leave the experience behind. After our hike, we had lunch in a local village. Nico ordered a selection of local food that was all delicious. We then had a nap in the car on our drive back to Beijing. This was our first guided tour in China, the start of our wonderful but too short visit to this culturally rich and fascinating country, our first experience of the warm and friendly welcome of Chinese people.

A fantastic day with Justin! What a lovely incredibly knowledgeable guide. - love the way he gave us privacy but was there to help in any way. Our day trip and lunch were just fantastic- great driver too! Thank you for making our trip a memorable one! Denyse